Doll



May 1939' E. G. SCHAEFFER 2,159,293

DOLL

Filed July 24, 1936 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 23, 1939 UNlTEDSTATES PATENT ()FHQE DOLL Application July 24, 1936, Serial No. 92,333

9 Claims.

This invention relates to dolls and more particularly to a dollstructure having eyeballs pivotally mounted therein with automaticmechanism for moving the eyeballs into closed, sleeping position andinto open, waking position.

In accordance with this invention, an eyeball assembly is provided whichincludes one or more eyeballs pivotally mounted for movement into openand closed position having associated there- 10 with eyeball-operatingmechanism assembled as a complete unit before it is inserted into thedoll head. The unit may be suitably clipped, fixed, or otherwiseattached within the doll head, or, if desired, the unit may beincorporated with the doll head mold and then molded into place as thedoll head itself is molded or formed.

In one form of my invention the eyeballs are fixed to a suitable rockshaft which is pivotally supported in a bracket fixed, secured, clamped,

or otherwise secured within the doll head. A suitable weighted pendulumis fixed to the rock shaft so that when the pendulum is acted upon bygravity, it will move the eyes into closed or open position uponpredetermined rocking or lifting movement of the doll body. A guide rackfor the pendulum is integrally formed with or secured to the bracket.The guide rack is provided with an elongated slot through which thependulum member extends. The rack is provided with a series of barbswhich successively interrupt the movement of the pendulum when it swingsthe eyeballs to closing position so as to require sidewise rocking ofthe doll head to suecessively advance the pendulum into eye-closingposition. This operation takes place as the doll is rocked in its cribor in the arms of its childmother. When the doll is raised into verticalor aroused position, the pendulum will return to its eye-opened positionwithout obstruction from the barbs.

The eyeball and eyeball-operating unit can be inexpensively made andassembled with a minimum of operations, and largely by unskilled labor,and can be advantageously assembled in doll heads designed to retail atcomparatively low cost. The movement of the eyeballs is such as toclosely simulate the eyeball movement in the human baby when it isrocked to sleep and when picked up and aroused. The child-mother obtainsgreat happiness and delight from the doll as herein constructed, sinceits eye performance, to which the child is immediately attracted, isvery similar to that of a natural baby.

55 An object of this invention is to provide a sleeping doll havingeyeballs which can be closed by a solicitous rocking movement of thedoll.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved eyeballmounting and eyeball-operating mechanism which may be assembled as a 5complete unit and the unit thereafter inserted, attached, or otherwiseapplied to the doll head.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved eyeballunit having eyeballmounting and operating mechanism associated l0therewith which can be produced at low cost, which is substantiallyfoolproof and positive in operation, and which is sturdy and strong inconstruction.

Other objects of this invention will become 15 apparent as thedisclosure proceeds.

Various other features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following particular description and from an inspection of theaccompanying drawing. 20

Although the novel features which are believed tobe characteristic ofthis invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appendedhereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and advantages, and themanner in which it may be 25 carried out, may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional View through 30 a portion of a dollhead, showing particularly the eyeballs, the mounting therefor, and themechanism for manipulating the eyeballs to closed and open position,this view being taken on line l-l 0f Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view looking into the front section of the dollhead and showing a rear elevational view of the dolls eyeballs, themounting therefor, and the eyeball-manipulating mechanism, this Viewbeing taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the eyeball mounting and theeyeball-manipulating mechanism, one of the eyeballs being removed toshow the structure to the rear of same;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the eyeballs, the mounting therefor,and operating mechanism, this view being taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view looking directly at the eyeballs,this view showing the eyeball mounting and the operating mechanismtherefor.

Similar reference characters refer to similar the iris.

parts throughout the several views of the drawing and specification.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, there is shownfor purposes of illustration the front half I of a doll head, havingfacial features 2. The doll head may be made from porcelain, phenolresins, vulcanized rubber, or other earthy, metallic, fibrous, resinous,or moldable materials well known in the art. The eyeballs 5, themounting therefor, and the eyeballoperating mechanism, are assembled asa complete unit and then inserted within the doll head. Where the dollhead is molded, stamped, or otherwise formed, the eyeballs, eyeballmounting and eyeball-operating mechanism may be quickly inserted throughthe opening 3 in the neck portion of the doll and affixed in position.If desired, the unit may be molded into position as the doll head isformed or cast.

The eyeballs 5 are colored or otherwise formed so that the pupil 6a, theiris 6b, and the sclerotic coat to will have the appearance and likenessto the human eye. Eyelashes l comprising a plurality ofparallel-arranged hairs or fibers are cemented or otherwise secured tothe eyeball over The upper portion 6d of the eyeball 5 is suitablycoated or decorated to give the appearance of the human eyelid whenclosed. The eyeballs 5 are fixed to the respective ends of a shaft 8which is suitably mounted on the flange portions it of a supportingbracket i0. Flange portions l 1 extending from the bracket it areprovided with inwardly extending prongs !E which are adapted to bepressed or clamped into gripping engagement with an inwardly extendingprojection it molded or otherwise secured to the interior of the skullI. The bracket ill may be quickly secured in position by means of asuitable clamp-ing tool so as to rigidly support the eyeballs 5 inproper position within the doll head, so that" the opening 5a in thefacial portion 2 provides a realistic frame for the eyeball.

The shaft 8 supporting the eyeballs 5 preferably extends throughelongated slots E2 in the flange portions H, the shaft 8 being retainedtherein by a bent over nose portion i3 which substantially closes theouter ends of the slots. The nose portion l 3 may be bent over after theshaft 8 has been inserted into the slots l2. The shaft 8 is frictionallyretained in the fixed position by means of a suitable spring element I?having one end l8 thereof fixed to-the bracket l0 and the other end 19frictionally engaging the shaft 8 so as to resiliently press shaft 8against the nose portion 13. The frictional grip of the spring elementl7 should be such as to normally retain the eyeballs in fixed positionuntil the eyeball-moving mechanism now to be described is brought intoplay.

The eyeball-motivating mechanism may comprise a bar 22 having a weight23, such as a piece of lead, secured to the one end thereof. The otherend of the bar is connected to the shaft 8 by means of a suitable loop24 which extends through an opening or hole in the shaft 8. Thus it isseen that the bar 22 and the weight 23 which it supports is normallyfree to swing as a pendulum in a plane substantially perpendicular tothe shaft 8.

The swinging movement of the pendulum, comprising the bar 22 andassociated weight 23, is definitely limited by an elongated slot 2! cutinto a guide rack 20 through which the bar 22 extends. The guide rack 25may be provided with elements 26 clamped to a projection 21 extendingfrom the lower end of the bracket It]. It is understood,

however, that the guide rack- 20 may be formed integrally with thebracket iii, if desired. The slot 2! extends in a direction generallytransverse to the shaft 8, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and the movementof the eyeballs 5 from open to closed position and vice versa ismeasured by the length of the slot 2i.

It will be noted that the slot 2i is provided with a plurality ofinwardly extending barbs 39 or projections which are designed to causethe bar 22 to partake of a zigzag path as it passes from one end 25a ofthe slot to the other end 2th of the slot. This zigzag movement of thebar 22 can be effected, when the eyeball-operating mechanism is mountedwithin the head of the doll, by giving the bar 22 and its associatedweight 23 a pendulum swinging movement. This pendulum swinging movementis effected by rocking the doll sidewise back and forth as it lies inits cradle or in the arms of its child-mother. The eyeballs are thusgiven a gradual closing movement during which the eyelashes l graduallydrop downward, concealing the pupil to. and iris 6b from View, so thatthe eyelid portion 801 only is visible through the opening 500 in thefacial portion 2. It will be noted that the barbs are so shaped as toprovide seats on their upper faces and cam surfaces on their lowerfaces.

The operation of the eyeball-closing mechanism is as follows: When thedoll head and associated doll body is given a sidewise rocking movementsuch as is customary in putting to sleep the human baby, the bar 22,motivated by gravity acting on the weight 23, will swing ofi from theseat 3! which it occupies when the dolls eyes are in open position, andwill move onto the opposite seat 32. A rocking movement in the oppositedirection will cause the bar 22, motivated by the action of gravity toslip off from its seat 32 and onto the opposite seat 33, which is onestage closer to the eye-closed end 2th of the slot 2|. Continuedto-and-fro rocking movement of the doll will cause the bar 22, motivatedby gravity acting upon its weight 23, to drop successively onto the seat3 5, the seat 35, the seat 38, the seat 31, and so on until the pupiland iris, 6a. and lib respectively, are no longer visible and only theeyelid portion (id is visible through the eye opening 5a. The dollseyeballs in this position closely simulate the closed lids of a sleepingbaby, and the eyeballs are supported in closed, sleeping position by theseat it at the end of the slot 2!. It is thus seen that the eyelashes land eyelids 6d are brought into closing position by gradual stages,which closely simulates the gradual closing of a babys eyes as sleepapproaches. When the doll is to be aroused from its slumber all that isnecessary is to lift the doll into upright position or partially uprightposition, which will cause the weight 23 attached to the bar 22 to leaveits seat 4 and move forwardly to the other end 2 la of the slot. Theinwardly projecting barbs do not interfere with this movement inasmuchas they are provided with lower cam surfaces ll, which permit the bar 22to move forwardly substantially unobstructed. It is understood that theslot 2i may be as long as is necessary to effect complete closing andopening of the dolls eyes and as many inwardly projecting barbs 36 maybe provided as desired to effect closing of the dolls eyes by successivestages or intervals. The more barbs there are, the greater number ofsidewise rocking movements will be required to completely close theeyes, and it is evident that if a large number of closely spaced barbsareprovided the closing can be effectuated Without substantially visiblejerking movement, so that the closing of the eyes appears to thechild-mother entirely natural and similar to the gradual closing of anatural babys eyes.

Since the eyeball mounting and operating mechanism is all formed as anintegral unit before insertion into the doll head, the same can beinexpensively manufactured from stamped parts and quickly and easilyassembled. The entire eyeball-supporting and manipulating unit may beassembled within the doll head and suitably secured in position byclamps or other securing means at a high rate of speed, thus assuring alow cost of manufacture and positive operation of the parts. Herctoforeeyeball-operating mechanism comprising several parts has been separatelyassembled in the doll head, and doll heads as thus constructed areexpensive since much time and considerable skill are required toassemble the parts in the doll head in the proper relationship.

The eyeball mounting and operating mechanism herein described can beused with many different varieties of dolls. Heretofore, so-calledsleeping dolls have been expensive due to the fact that theeye-operating mechanism has been unduly complicated and difficult toassemble in the 'doll head. The eyeball-operating mechanism hereindisclosed is assembled with the eyeball as a complete, integralfunctioning unit, thus avoiding the difficulty of assembling the partsunder cramped conditions within the doll head. The completeeyeball-operating unit may be inserted into the doll head through theneck opening, or if the head is assembled in two parts theeyeballoperating unit can be inserted in the head prior to theapplication of the back portion of the head to the facial portion, or ifdesired the unit may be placed in a suitable head-shaping mold and thehead molded around the unit. In such cases the molding material would bemade of disintegratable material so that it can be removed after thehead has been cast.

Since the eyeball, eyeball mounting and operating mechanism are firstformed as an assembled unit prior to the insertion thereof into the dollhead, the same can be made and assembled on a mass production basissubstantially entirely by automatic machinery and with a minimum amountof labor. The unit can thus be made at very low cost and can be embodiedas a feature in doll bodies marketable at a price considerably below theprice of dolls heretofore made having eyes which are rocked to sleep.The unit is sturdy and strong in construction, positive in operation,and the functional parts are so correlated as to operate efficiently andeffectively. The moving parts are so supported that jars given to thedoll body or doll head will not displace or disarrange the parts. Theeyeball-operating mechanism can be associated with doll bodies ofinnumerable shapes and forms and made from all the various materialscommonly used in the art.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed andare pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood thatvarious modifications, omissions, substitutions. and changes may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

l. A sleeping doll including, a doll head having a facial portion and aneye opening in said facial portion, mounting means positioned above saideye opening, and providing a single point of suspension and anintegrally assembled eyeball unit fixedly "suspended from said mountingmeans, said unit including a pair of eyeballs, means pivotally mountingsaid eyeballs, and mechanism forming a part of said unit for closingsaid eyes by stages when the doll is rocked.

2. A sleeping doll including in combination, a doll head, and anintegrally assembled eyeball unit mounted within said doll head, saidunit including a bracket having clamping jaws gripping a portion of thedoll head, eyeballs pivotally mounted on said bracket, means operablyconnected to said eyeballs designed to pivot said eyeballs into open andclosed position, a guide rack associated with said pivot means fixed toand supported by said bracket, said guide rack including a plate memberhaving an elongated slot therein, barbs projecting inwardly into saidslot so as to cause said pivot means to describe a zigzag path as itmoves along said slot, and means resisting pivotal movement of saideyeballs which may be overcome by gravity operating upon a weightedelement associated with said pivot means.

3. A sleeping doll including, a doll head having a facial portion, aneye opening in said facial portion, and a projection integrally formedwith said doll head positioned above said eye opening, and an integrallyassembled eyeball unit fixedly suspended from said projection, said unitinclud ing a pair of eyeballs, a bracket pivotally mounting saideyeballs, and mechanism forming a part of said unit for closing saideyes by stages when the doll is rocked, said bracket having spacedelements adapted to be pressed into gripping engagement with saidprojection to suspend said eyeball unit in fixed position within thedoll head.

4. A sleeping doll including in combination, a doll head, and anintegrally assembled eyeball unit fixedly suspended from a single pointwithin said doll head, said unit including a bracket fixed within thedoll head, eyeballs pivotally mounted on said bracket, a pendulumoperatively connected to said eyeballs designed to pivot said eyeballsinto open and closed position, and a guide rack associated with saidpendulum fixed to and supported by said bracket, said pendulum includinga stem portion extending through said guide rack, a weight fixed to theend of said stem portion exterior to said guide rack, and resilientmeans resisting pivotal movement of said eyeballs which may be overcomeby the swinging movement of said pendulum.

5. In combination with a doll head having a facial portion, eye openingsin said facial portion, mounting means in said head positioned betweensaid eye openings, and a unitary integrally assembled eyeball andeyeball-operating mechanism within the doll head, said mechanismincluding a bracket stamped from a single piece of sheet metal havingspaced prongs adapted to be laterally pressed into gripping engagementwith said mounting means to retain said bracket in fixed suspendedposition within the doll head, an eyeball positioned adjacent each ofsaid eye openings, means pivotally mounting said eyeballs on saidbracket, means for pivoting said eyeballs, and means fixedly secured tosaid bracket for controlling in successive stages the pivoting movementof said eyeballs into closed sleeping position.

6. A sleeping doll including in combination, a doll head having a facialportion and eye openings in said facial portion, mounting meanspositioned between and above said eye openings, and an integrallyassembled eyeball unit fixedly suspended from said mounting means, saidunit including a bracket having spaced prongs adapted tdbe laterallypressed into gripping engagement with said mounting means to retain saidbracket in fixed suspended position within the doll head, eyeballspivotally mounted on said bracket, a pendulum from said mounting means,said unit including a bracket fixedly suspended from said.mountingmeans, said bracket having clamping jaws gripping said mounting means,eyeballs pivotally mounted on said bracket, a pendulum operablyconnected to said eyeballs designed to pivot said eyeballs into open andclosed position, a guide rack associated with said pendulum fixed to andsupported by said bracket, and means resisting pivotal movement of saideyeballs which may be overcome by the swinging movement of saidpendulum.

8. A sleeping doll including in combination, a doll head having a facialportion and an eye opening in said facial portion, mounting meanspositioned above said eye opening and formedas a portion of the dollhead, and an integrally assembled eyeball unit fixedly suspended fromsaid mounting means, said unit including a bracket fixedly suspendedfrom said mounting means, a shaft pivotally supported by said bracket,an eyeball fixed to said shaft, a pendulum operably connectedto saidshaft designed to pivot the shaft and said eyeball into open and closedposition, and a guide rack associated with said pendulum fixed to andsupported by said bracket.

9. A sleeping doll including in combination, a doll head, and anintegrally assembled eyeball unit fixedly suspended from a single pointwithin said doll head, said unit including a bracket having clampingjaws gripping a portion of the doll head, a rock shaft pivotally mountedon said bracket, 9. pair of eyeballs fixed to said rock shaft, a pendulum connected to said rock shaft and designed to pivot the eyeballsinto open and closed position, a guide rack associated with saidpendulum fixed to and supported by said bracket, and a resilient elementintegrally formed with said bracket for resisting pivotal movement ofsaid eyeballs which may be overcome by the swinging movement of saidpendulum. I

EDWARD G. SCHAEFFER.

